3: The Puppy
by Just One More Troubled Soul
Summary: PART 3 OF ALINA & NIKOLAI "I froze in surprise. Nikolai always got up before me and was long gone by the time I was awake. But that day, he was still next to me, fast asleep. And I have no idea what came over me in that instant, but I couldn't help it. I stared at him."


_**Alina & Nikolai**_

_**3: The Puppy**_

**Well, here it is! My third story for Alina and Nikolai. If you've read and reviewed/followed my other stories in this little series, then thank you very much for the support! I love this couple, and I'm glad you do too.**

**So, go ahead, enjoy the story! Reviews are very appreciated, though please don't be too negative :)**

_**Alina**_

The one thing I hated the most about life at the Grand Palace was waking up in the morning. There were days that were better than others, when I could sleep in and let Nikolai deal with whatever meetings/conferences/other things I didn't care about. But most of the time, I had to wake up brutally early, just as the sun was rising. Why? Because I was Queen, and servants had to do my hair, and makeup, and choose a dress for me, and then there were meetings in the war room and the other things I mentioned earlier. Some days, I wanted to lock my door and tell the servants to get lost so that I could sleep in.

Nikolai woke up even earlier than I did. He was constantly running down to his work rooms to build some new invention. His latest creation was a new form of airship that could fly higher and faster than his old ones. I was terrified to step foot on that thing until it was completely finished. But with my luck, and Nikolai's sly, mischievous personality, I was probably going to wake up one of these mornings on the airship's deck. I could already imagine his greeting: _Sleep well, Kotyonok? We're above the True Sea right now and there's a bit of a storm, so you might want to think about hanging onto something. _He was going to get himself killed one day and it would be his own fault.

That particular morning, I woke up a couple precious minutes before the servants normally came to wake me. The early dawn sunlight was throwing cream-colored streaks across the high ceiling and the silken covers of the bed. Somewhere near my feet, my pet fox, Niko was curled into a ball of fiery fur, his ears twitching as he dreamed. I blinked blearily and raised my arms over my head, stretching as I tried to hold back a yawn. I propped myself up on my elbows and sleepily rubbed at my eyes. _Ugh. Maybe I _will_ lock the servants out today. Just for five minutes. _It was then that I realized that I wasn't alone.

I froze in surprise. Nikolai always got up before me and was long gone by the time I was awake. But that day, he was still next to me, fast asleep. And I have no idea what came over me in that instant, but I couldn't help it. I stared at him. His dark golden hair was tousled and the sunlight lit each strand brilliantly. His eyelashes cast miniature shadows on his skin. I swallowed as my eyes trailed down the curve of his neck to his bare shoulders and arms, one resting across his stomach and the other draped lazily over the edge of the bed. He was on his back and I watched, almost in a daze, as his chest rose and fell gently in his sleep. He looked, well, beautiful.

_Stop it! _I ordered myself. _This is Nikolai! You told Genya you didn't have feelings for him and here you are, watching him sleep. _But I couldn't stop. He looked so peaceful. _Sobachka, _I thought absently. Puppy. Caught in the moment, I missed the way his chest stilled slightly, the flicker of his lashes that meant he was stirring.

"Are you going to stare at me all morning?" he asked suddenly, and I jerked unexpectedly. He opened his eyes, eyelids lowered from sleep, and his mouth curved into a devilish smirk. This, paired with his husky morning voice, was shockingly sexy. I shoved the thought from my mind.

"I was not staring," I lied, sitting up. I brushed my hair from my face with my fingers.

"No need to get defensive," he said, and I could hear the smirk in his voice. "You can look all you want. I don't mind."

I rolled my eyes. "You are way too full of yourself," I told him matter-of-factly. "Maybe I was staring because I couldn't believe how hideous you are."

"You think I'm hideous?" he asked disbelievingly. He pushed himself up and raked his hands back through his hair. The covers slipped down his torso and it was impossible for me to tear my gaze from the rippling muscle of his stomach and chest. _Saints, I didn't know Nikolai looked like _that _when he was shirtless._

"Yes," I answered. "I do. I can't believe I married you."

His bright hazel eyes flickered. "Liar," he accused.

"Actually it's true. Try looking in a mirror for once."

"You don't fool me, Alina."

"I don't know what you're talking about." But I smiling now.

"Just admit it."

"Admit what?"

"That's it." Just then, he caught me around the waist and tugged me back down onto the mattress. I yelped, then laughed, feeling inexplicably giddy. I stopped laughing, however, when he shifted and pinned me there, holding himself over me with his elbows braced on either side of my head. His body heat seeped into me and a shiver ran down my spine as he grinned wickedly. There was a very tiny sliver of air between us. "You're not going anywhere until you admit that you find me irresistible," he told me.

"What, like the rest of your loyal subjects?" I asked, feeling bold, and light, and entirely too happy with all of this.

"Yes," he answered. "And you may want to hurry up, because if the servants catch us like this, who knows what they'll think of you?" His tone was sinfully playful.

"Oh, and you think they won't notice you on top of me, _Sobachka?" _I taunted.

He chuckled, and the sound seemed to ripple through me, low and lovely. "Careful, _Kotyonok_," he murmured. "You're playing with fire now." He slid his hand to my jaw, fingers spreading over my cheek. His thumb pressed against my neck and I jerked at the way my skin burned at his touch. He eased my chin up so that he could kiss me, a brief, intense kiss, his lips searing into mine. It was short, but I knew he heard it when I whimpered with startled need into his mouth. He broke it after only a couple seconds and his grin was more smug than before.

"Why did you kiss me?" I asked breathlessly. My thoughts were tumbling wildly over each other and my heart was skipping erratically. I was completely caught off-guard by the way I'd come alive in that moment, my blood smoldering like molten steel in my veins. This was _Nikolai_.

"The same reason you kissed me back," he replied. My face turned horribly crimson and I opened my mouth to argue when he cheerfully cut me off. "And don't say you didn't like it, because this time, I know you loved it."

I spluttered indignantly, but he pushed away from me without listening, climbing out of the bed as smoothly as an uncoiling cobra. I let myself lay there for a moment before I sat up and wrapped an arm around my knees. I brushed my fingers wonderingly over my lips; I could still feel the heat of his kiss. "Nikolai?" I said hesitantly.

The dark, insidious scars from the Darkling's attack were facing me, etched into his back like black ink in the places where his wings had been. His arms were raised lazily over his head in a stretch, his powerful muscles flexing gorgeously, and he sent me a sideways glance. "What?"

"Do you...um, do you...have feelings for me?"

He was silent for a long time. Then a smile quirked his mouth. "I think the real question is, do _you_ have feelings for _me_?" he asked, somewhat more serious. Then the servants knocked impatiently at the door and I had no time to answer him.

-o-o-o-

"He _kissed _you?! Are you sure?"

I halted in the middle of the hallway to send Genya a disbelieving look. "How can I _not _be sure?" I asked pointedly, as she stopped beside me. "And anyway, yes. He did kiss me."

The one eye that wasn't hidden beneath her silk eyepatch glittered like sunlit amber. "I told you you had feelings for him!" she exclaimed. The sleeves of her magnificent scarlet _kefta _flapped as she clapped her hands together. "This is so romantic! I just love it!"

We started walking again and I pinched the bridge of my nose between two fingers. "Okay, first of all," I began flatly, "I didn't say anything about having feelings for him. Second of all, you have David; you don't need to look at me to find romance."

"I know," she sighed, grinning dreamily. "But it's so adorable and I've been waiting a long time for you to fall for Nikolai."

"I am not falling for Nikolai."

"Oh, sure you are. I can see it in your eyes."

"In my eyes?"

"Of course."

"You're crazy, Genya."

"No, it's true," she insisted. "Every time you talk about him, you light up. Your eyes are glowing right now, I swear." She edged closer to me, squinting at my eyes like she could see them bursting into flames right now.

I rolled my eyes. "I 'light up?'" I echoed. "This is stupid. I already told you, Nikolai and I are just friends. That's all we'll ever be and that's all we ever agreed to be."

She arched an eyebrow at me. "Then why did he kiss you?"

I stared at her. I opened my mouth, then closed it again. She did have a bit of a point. Everything Nikolai did was calculated, done for a reason. But there was no reason to randomly kiss me when we were friends. What had he even gained from it? The satisfaction of seeing me ruffled and taken off-guard. The knowledge that I had (though I was admitting this with a lot of difficulty) enjoyed every second of that kiss. _That stupid sound I made, _I thought with an inward wince. _Like I was begging him for more. _

Genya waved a hand in front of my face, making me jerk out of my thoughts. "Hello in there! You zoned out for a minute. Must have been daydreaming about your incredibly attractive husband. You're blushing, by the way."

My hands flew self-consciously to my cheeks. "Is it really that noticeable?" I demanded, remembering how Nikolai always pointed it out to me. Then I saw her knowing smile and exhaled in defeat. "Okay, listen," I said slowly. "Maybe I do have..._some _feelings for him. I don't know, maybe he even has feelings for me and that's what all this is about. But he was my best friend and my ally during the war, and suddenly we were thrown together as husband and wife. To top it off, I lost Mal, and it still hurts me. Every day."

She gazed at me, concern furrowing her brows. "Oh, Alina," she said softly.

I kept my gaze fixed on the hallway in front of me and the door waiting at the end of it. "I don't know if I'm ready to do this," I admitted. "I'm afraid to let him in. I shouldn't be, but I am."

"It's okay to be afraid," she reassured me, resting her hand on my shoulder. "I was terrified after the _nichevo'ya _attacked me. I thought that David would never love me when I was that terrible. But I let him in anyway and when he saw that I hadn't really changed, he loved me for who I was. Nikolai will be the same."

"How do you know?" I asked.

"Because that's why he's been doing all of this," she replied confidently. "He's seen something in you, and he wants to get past your wall somehow. And like it or not, Alina, I think you're starting to feel the same about him."

I gazed back wordlessly. There was nothing I could think of to say to that. Maybe it was because I didn't want to start an argument with her over my confused feelings. Or maybe it was because she was right.


End file.
